Still No Baby.....

Two weeks later, and still no baby. But things happen for a reason, right? Maybe the baby needed to wait for Cally to recover from a rotten cold or maybe the baby is waiting to for us to get all our little "projects" done or maybe the baby is just taking his/her time to come into this world.

Last week, I got a huge sucker punch regarding what it is like to be a part of this world and its been a pretty emotional time. A student at the high school where I teach walked into school on Tuesday with a gun and ended his life in a bathroom. I feel like I've gone through the gamut of emotions in the aftermath of this tragedy-- sadness for the student, his friends, his parents, and our community; anger towards the media for their coverage of this horrific event and people in the region who want to blame schools and teachers for anything they can; frustration that our sense of safety has been shattered; and relief that this student didn't have the desire to bring anyone else down with him. The whole situation has made me think so much about what it is to be a kid today.......... relationships are so different. Instead of communicating with your friends face to face, you text, twitter, and state your status on public Facebook posts. Kids have so many more "friends" these days, but I wonder if they really have people with whom they can open up and talk? This whole week has made me scared for the future of my students and child(ren). But, waking up to the beaming smile of our little red head and then seeing the community of our school come together in the subsequent days has given me hope. I hope that my students will learn from this tragedy and listen to friends, ask for help, and open up a little more. I hope that Cally will have relationships with friends, family, and teachers where she feels comfortable opening up and being who she is. Right now, Cally is open to almost anyone and anything. She loves to talk, she loves her relationships with people of every age (and animals, too), and when I ask her if she's happy, she say, "I'm SO happy". That gives me hope.

(Cally with "the boys"-- Scott, Tom, & Dad)

(Giving hugs to Zephy)

(seeing the joy she gets from skiing)

(Cally recently introduced to the wonders of Skyping her Nana and Grandpa)

Maybe baby has been waiting for me to process these events with my colleagues, be there for my students, and be hopeful?